On Saturday Astronomer CEO Andy Byron announced his resignation from the company after he was filmed embracing a female colleague, then attempting to hide, on a kiss cam at a Coldplay concert in Boston, Massachusetts, on Wednesday.
Prior to Byron’s resignation he had been placed on leave with Pete DeJoy, Astronomer’s co-founder and chief product officer, appointed as interim CEO.
Newsweek contacted DeJoy for comment via LinkedIn direct message.
The Context
On Wednesday Bryron, who is married, was pictured in an embrace with Kristin Cabot, Astronomer’s head of human resources, at the concert. Footage of the pair attempting to hide after noticing they were on the kiss cam went viral on social media with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin commenting: “Either they’re having an affair, or they’re just very shy.”
Following the incident Bryon’s wife, Megan Kerrigan Byron, changed her last name on Facebook before deactivating her account.
What To Know
On Saturday Astronomer announced that “Cofounder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy is currently serving as interim CEO” adding “we will share more details as appropriate in the coming days.”
According to his LinkedIn profile DeJoy has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and physics from Bowdoin College in Maine.
He co-founded data company Astronomer in 2017 becoming its vice-president for product in January 2023, then its chief product officer in February 2025.
British newspaper The Sun reported DeJoy was “instrumental in expanding Astronomer’s data orchestration platform” during his eight years with the company.
On LinkedIn DeJoy said he “did whatever it took to bring the first incarnations of our commercial offerings to market and build our business.”
What People Are Saying
In a statement provided to Newsweek on Saturday a Astronomer spokesperson said: “Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding. Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met.”
Earlier the company said: “Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding. Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability.
“The Board of Directors has initiated a formal investigation into this matter, and we will have additional details to share very shortly… Andy Byron has not put out any statement; reports saying otherwise are all incorrect.”
Ry Walker, CEO of AI company Tembo, said on X: “Great choice by @astronomerio in naming @petedejoy as interim CEO. He is an amazing co-founder and friend.”
What Happens Next
It remains to be seen whether DeJoy will replace Byron as Astronomer’s permanent CEO or if the company will select someone else.
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